Body of sewer worker recovered — five days after he was trapped underground

The Lagos Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) says the body of a sewer worker who was trapped in an underground drainage at the Onipanu area of the state has been recovered.

Tajudeen Amololo, a 59-year-old sewer worker with the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA), was trapped in the tunnel while dislodging and evacuating waste from the underground drainage on Monday.

In a statement on Friday, Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, LASEMA permanent secretary, said the victim’s body was recovered after five days of search and rescue operations.

Oke-Osanyintolu, said a firefighter with the Lagos State Fire Service, also suffocated during the rescue operation but was resuscitated.

“After five days of painstaking, tedious and energy-sapping operation, the team remained determined to focus on the rescue operation,” the statement reads.

“At about 5:53 pm on Friday 10th May, 2024, the victim was recovered dead from the underground drainage/tunnel.

“The recovered body was immediately bagged by the agency’s officials and handed over to LAMATA drain ducks.”

Oke-Osanyintolu said adequate safety measures should be provided to workers in the operations of the drain ducks.